Glass

Somewhere in the middle of Florida is UV-TV, they write melancholy pop songs that are a mass of jagged and abrasive edges that combine strong hooks with infectious chainsaw guitar riffs, a sound that has drawn comparisons to Black Tambourine, The Jesus And Mary Chain and The Shop Assistants, but for me there’s also a hefty dose of two of my home town’s, Manchester UK, favourite sons woven into their DNA. Glass was self-recorded over a hectic two days in a retired Gainesville train station, and it was released via Deranged Records on the 10th March.

From the opening hyperactive blast of Wasting Away, the finest minute of buzzsaw guitars you’ll hear this year, I had a good feeling about this album, and my gut feeling about this release was right on all eleven counts. The first six tracks are all sparkling amphetamine laced punk rock that should have you bouncing round the room, it’s only as you get deeper into the album’s latter stages that they branch out and their other influences become apparent. Take It All has a distinctly post punk feel to it, whilst Severed Hand and the title track bring a darker element to Glass. The penultimate track, FEAR, channels the authentic feel and sound of the first wave of UK punk bands, whilst the epic Dissolve closes things in a hectic squall of feedback and noise that builds to a crescendo that is a fitting end to what for me is undoubtedly going to be one of my favourite albums of 2017.

It’s rare to find an album that has one foot firmly in the past, but that also manages to be the most refreshing blast of energetic punk rock I’ve heard this year. UV-TV owe an equal debt to The Jesus And Mary Chain, Shop Assistants and the Buzzcocks, along with elements of Joy Division and the C86 UK indie scene to make a hybrid that is one of the best albums I’ve encountered in a long time. The enthusiasm and franticness from the organic lo-fi recording process really comes across, and if you want an idea of just how impressed I was with Glass, I promptly bought their 2014 Demo EP when I had finished writing this review. I’m normally sceptical of what is written on press releases but the closing line on theirs is prefect, this is UV-TV, listen loud.

You can pre-order Glass on vinyl via Deranged Recordshere and UV-TV‘s website is here

UV-TV‘s Bandcamp can be found here and the Deranged Records Bandcamp is here

Somewhere in the middle of Florida is UV-TV, they write melancholy pop songs with jagged, abrasive edges that combine strong hooks with chainsaw guitars, a sound that has drawn comparisons to Black Tambourine, The Jesus And Mary Chain and The Shop Assistants, in short it is shoegaze stripped of its fat and its fluff. Glass was self-recorded over two days in a retired Gainesville train station and will be released via Deranged Records on the 10th March, this is UV-TV, listen loud.

Two tracks are available for streaming, Only Matters Whenhere and Hearhere

You can pre-order Glass via Deranged Recordshere and UV-TV‘s website is here